I'm with bk and you Phil. I'd like to narrow the gap between my best and my worst. If I can do that I reckon I'd be pretty good.
"Consistency" - what does it mean?
The PGA Tour winner topped a 3w today.
As a lot of others have indicated, consistency to me means a predictable range between my best shots and my worst shots. I'm also looking for a regular miss/tendency - sure there's always the opportunity to have outliers, but I want 8/10 misses to be the same, not every other.
Knowing what to expect from yourself shot after shot is the key to scoring well IMO. It could be as easy as removing a club from your bag to eliminate a particular issue.
Knowing what to expect from yourself shot after shot is the key to scoring well IMO. It could be as easy as removing a club from your bag to eliminate a particular issue.
Consistency is the thickness of your ketchup 
. More consistent in golf is limiting the number of bad shots, more fairways off the tee, gir... which typically will lead to better scoring.
. More consistent in golf is limiting the number of bad shots, more fairways off the tee, gir... which typically will lead to better scoring.
darthweasel
Well-known member
appreciate the thought you put into it. All too often someone mentions they are seeking consistency and the instructor/forum peeps all have to be the "smartest man in the room" syndrome and spend the time pointing out consistency is impossible instead of trying to define what someone is looking for. Essentially instead of trying to be helpful they attack the question. Seen it a lot on certain forums to remain nameless to protect the arrogant.
For me it would be tightening my dispersions. If my 9i has a 150 yard wide dispersion it is really hard to plan my shot. I saw a stat at one point where low handicap golfers had a dispersion with a...I think it was a 7-iron? of about 30 yards wide and pros about 15 yards wide. For me if my 7i dispersion is 60 yards wide and 50 yards short to long, getting more consistent would be narrowing the width and depth. I don't want to be out there hitting my first 7i 210 and my second one 139 (and yes, I did just that earlier this year)...if I can get them where the bad ones are 175 and the exceptional ones 190 with most being in that 180-185 range I am trying for with a left to right dispersion of 40ish yards...I will be more consistent.
Do that thought experiment with every club and my definition of consistency is achieved...I will know, outliers excepted, where the ball is generally going. There are still going to be moments I can't take a hazard out of play, or a weird bounce affects it etc or where those chips that were going to 3' yesterday are going to 10' today and my score varies wildly...but I will be, by MY definition, more consistent.
For me it would be tightening my dispersions. If my 9i has a 150 yard wide dispersion it is really hard to plan my shot. I saw a stat at one point where low handicap golfers had a dispersion with a...I think it was a 7-iron? of about 30 yards wide and pros about 15 yards wide. For me if my 7i dispersion is 60 yards wide and 50 yards short to long, getting more consistent would be narrowing the width and depth. I don't want to be out there hitting my first 7i 210 and my second one 139 (and yes, I did just that earlier this year)...if I can get them where the bad ones are 175 and the exceptional ones 190 with most being in that 180-185 range I am trying for with a left to right dispersion of 40ish yards...I will be more consistent.
Do that thought experiment with every club and my definition of consistency is achieved...I will know, outliers excepted, where the ball is generally going. There are still going to be moments I can't take a hazard out of play, or a weird bounce affects it etc or where those chips that were going to 3' yesterday are going to 10' today and my score varies wildly...but I will be, by MY definition, more consistent.
Et Tu Brute?
Well-known member
Last summer playing a short Par 4 I sliced a tee shot into the rough about 25 yards off the fairway. Got there and it was on a patch of hardpan, no problem getting the ball up around the green.
The next day, same hole, same slice. I told the guy I was playing with, "Hope I fixed my divot yesterday". No joke, I got there and my ball had settled into my divot scrape from the previous day. Two shots, about 190 yards each, about 25 yards offline, finishing within inches of each other. That's "consistency", baby!
Of course a "consistent" golfer would have not duffed the iron shot on the second day. Turns out I had not, in fact, fixed my divot. Cost me a bogey.
The next day, same hole, same slice. I told the guy I was playing with, "Hope I fixed my divot yesterday". No joke, I got there and my ball had settled into my divot scrape from the previous day. Two shots, about 190 yards each, about 25 yards offline, finishing within inches of each other. That's "consistency", baby!
Of course a "consistent" golfer would have not duffed the iron shot on the second day. Turns out I had not, in fact, fixed my divot. Cost me a bogey.